“ A Conversation With…”is a series of informal and unscripted visits with leading figures from The University of Texas at Dallas. From describing what an “aha!” moment feels like to explaining the moment or identifying the person that sparked a lifelong passion, these conversations will meander through the minds and memories that make up UT Dallas.

He is an expert in the field of nanotechnology, having pioneered fuel-powered artificial muscles based on carbon nanotubes. He also invented a time/temperature indicator used to indicate freshness and safety for vaccines and military Meals Ready to Eat. That technology alone, when used on vaccines, is predicted to save more than 140,000 lives.

During our visit, Dr. Baughman shared his thoughts on:

• How a scientist who isn’t an engineer joins the National Academy of Engineering.

• The thrill of making shared discoveries.

• His admiration for his friend, Nobel Prize winner Alan G. MacDiarmid, who became the namesake for the NanoTech Institute. Dr. Baughman details Dr. MacDiarmid’s bravery as he volunteered his life to stop a gas leak that threatened to blow the lab apart.

• His pride in becoming a Texan, after being recruited by Dr. MacDiarmid.

Dr. Ray Baughman is the director of the Alan G. MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute, named for the Nobel Prize winner who recruited Dr. Baughman to UT Dallas.

“He was a great friend for over 31 years. He was a hero, not only in science, but in a number of other ways. … He was a scientist and a humanist who worked to the very last moment of life. He was suffering from cancer and other serious ailments, and had many arrows in his body, but the day he died he was getting up early in the morning to go off to…his native country of New Zealand. … He was a great hero.”